NATO member France offers Armenia weapons after Azerbaijan reclaims Nagorno-Karabakh

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member France announced on Tuesday, October 3 that will deliver unspecified military equipment to Yerevan as Azerbaijan reclaimed the contentious Nagorno-Karabakh after launching a military operation. Buses carrying the ethnic Armenians left the breakaway region that Azerbaijan calls Karabakh after a mass exodus following what Baku called the 'anti-terrorist' operation that local officials said killed or wounded scores of civilians. 

During her visit to Armenia, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna held talks with the top officials and vowed support. France has given its agreement for the conclusion of the future contracts with Armenia that will enable the delivery of military equipment so that Armenia can use it for its 'defence,' Colonna was quoted as saying by France 24 news network.

“I can’t give many details,” she said. “If I have to go a little further, know that there are things that were already agreed between Armenia and France and that are in progress.”

France agrees to take in the injured Armenians

France also agreed to take the injured Armenians in the fuel explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh, Colonna told the outlet. During her visit to Armenia, she met with the victims at the Yerevan hospital. As many as 300 people were injured in the blast, and at  least 170 were killed in the incident. Two weeks ago, Azerbaijan launched a “counterterrorism” operation in Nagorno-Karabakh for 24 hours to eradicate what it called the 'separatist forces.' Explosions rocked parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as intense fighting ensued.

Azerbaijani troops used heavy artillery fire to attack the entrenched Armenian positions in the separatist region. Baku declared that it would continue the operation until the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh dismantled itself and “illegal Armenian military formations” surrendered. Eventually, the separatist government agreed to surrender and Baku's forces reclaimed the entire territory. 

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier this week took a swipe at Russia, saying that his country’s security relationships were “ineffective." Armenia, part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-dominated group of six post-Soviet states, has been sceptical about Russia's role as a guarantor of peace in the region. Following a military campaign by Azeri forces that drove out the ethnic Armenians, Pashinyan told Armenia’s public radio, that the recent events had exposed the country’s 'vulnerabilities.'

Earlier yesterday, Armenia's parliament voted to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a show of defiance to its ties with Moscow. The Hague court had issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin for illegal deportation of Ukrainian kids to Russia.